The Development Commissioner for Handlooms, Ministry of Textiles, is organising the second edition of Weave the Future, an exhibition dedicated to exploring the role of handlooms in building a truly sustainable and circular textile economy.
Opening on National Handloom Day, The Regenerative Edition will be held from August 7th to 17th, 2025, at the Crafts Museum, New Delhi. The exhibition will be inaugurated on August 8 by the Hon’ble Minister of Textiles, Shri Giriraj Singh and will celebrate India’s rich textile heritage. This year’s showcase brings together 30 participating brands and initiatives, including weavers, artisans, designers, enablers and storytellers who are committed to reviving and sustaining regenerative textile practices.
What to expect:
- A showcase of 30+ initiatives that span the textile value chain—from farmers and artisans to designers, enablers and storytellers.
- Focus on indigenous cotton varieties such as Kala Cotton, Punasa Cotton, Jayadhar Cotton and Karunganni Cotton, reviving climate-resilient agriculture and rural livelihoods.
- Collaborations with leading changemakers, including the Laudes Foundation IDH and the Regenerative Production Landscape Collaborative (RPL).
- A strong emphasis on circular production, decentralised systems and hand-spun hand-woven traditions.
Confirmed Projects Highlight:
- Soundscape Installation by Sonam Khetan: Large-scale textile panels by Sonam Khetan translating the disappearing natural sounds of a Californian wilderness area into woven spectrograms—an immersive meditative experience on ecological loss and memory.
- Cotton 2.0 Kora Design Collaborative: This installation showcases 12 native varieties of cotton seeds and traces their journey through the entire indigenous cotton processing cycle. From harvesting to seed separation, from fibre cleaning and ginning to spinning and weaving, each stage is demonstrated to highlight the deep-rooted knowledge and labour involved. The installation emphasises the revival and adaptation of traditional tools from manual gins and charkhas to spinning wheels and looms, which have been refined to ensure greater comfort and efficiency for the weavers.
- “What if every thread remembered?” Installation by Lafaani: A meditative eco-printed panel marked with petals and hand-appliqued dried flowers reflecting memory and the sacredness of the handmade.
- 11.11 Installation: The central nodes incorporate integrated seating while the radiating spines are constructed from hand-crafted bamboo. Fabric panels are affixed along these spines, forming a canopy that offers both shade and the potential for waterproofing through additional layering. Designed to be both functional and aesthetic, the installation creates a hand-crafted architectural cover providing shelter while celebrating traditional materials and sustainable design practices.
The exhibition will also feature multiple workshops the audience can participate in.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy, Bhairon Marg, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, Delhi 110001, India
